Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting held on 4 November 2015.

Following a Joint meeting of the OSC’s where a budget presentation was given, the Finance and Resources OSC meeting began at 8.25pm.

The minutes of the Finance & Resources OSC meeting held on 4^th November 2015 were confirmed by the Members present and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor’s Imarni and Silwal. Councillor E Collins and Fethney were absent.

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

None.

To give the opportunity for participation by members of the public who have given the appropriate notice of their intention to speak.

None.

Having received a presentation from the Director of Finance & Operations, the committee were open to discuss the budgets in their remits.

The Chairman asked Members if they had any questions surrounding the Draft Budget proposals 2016/17.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources and Residents and Regulatory Services said that they were both pleased with the Budget preparation 2016/17.

Councillor Douris asked the Officers and the Portfolio Holder if they could give the new Members of the Committee an explanation of what the recharges are.  

The Director of Finance and Operations explained that within the local authority the Council is required to collect all their costs and attribute them all to front line services. There is no impact on the bottom line of the budget other than the Support Services.

Councillor Tindall mentioned that a trend was occurring within the budget papers on Support Services, Supplies and Services and Third Parties (page 16). He asked if there could be an explanation given on how 20-30% of savings had been obtained within the budget.

The Director of Finance and Operations explained that the £40k related to the Woodhall Farm Community Centre previous employees being moved over to third party expenditure. In terms of the Supplies and Services, he added that the department is relatively constant with staffing side of things so you would expect the larger variations to come on the Supplies and Services side.

Councillor Tindall referred to page 21 of the report and a reduction of 34% in Support Services.

The Director of Finance and Operations explained that there had been a recharge error and an update had been provided to show this. He added that budgets need to be approved at these levels in order to make sure that there are controls in place.

Councillor Birnie asked if there was a way of defining Support Services.

The Director of Finance and Operations explained to Members that it’s anything that not front line services.

Councillor Harden asked if it would be possible to give a brief description to Members for what would be covered under each service.

The Director of Finance and Operations explained to Members the different groups:

Employees

This group includes the cost of employee expenses, both direct and indirect.

Premises

This group includes expenses directly related to the running of premises and land.

Transport

This group includes all costs associated with the hire or use of transport, including

travel allowances.

Third Party Payments

Third Party Payments - These are contracts with external providers for the provision of a specific service. Examples for the Council include the Call Centre, Payroll Services, and Parking Enforcement.

Supplies & Services

This group includes all direct supplies and service expenses to the authority.

Capital Charges

These statutory accounting adjustments reflect a notional charge to the service for the use of a Councils asset. For example, Cupid Depot, for which a charge is made to Waste Services, for as long as the service uses the asset. These charges are reversed out centrally and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Members were all in agreement to add the item “Asset Management Strategy” to the work programme for 13 January 2016.

The meeting ended at 9pm